Bryson DeChambeau will compete in this week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational after a positive COVID-19 test kept him from traveling to Tokyo to compete at the Olympic Games.
The 27-year-old, who is unvaccinated, said he has no regrets about not receiving a vaccine, and has no immediate plans to get the shot.
“I’m young enough, I’d rather give it [the vaccine] to people who need it,” DeChambeau said. “I don’t need it. I’m a healthy, young individual that will continue to work on my health.
“I don’t think taking the vaccine away from someone who needs it is a good thing. My dad is a perfect example. He got it [the vaccine] early on because he’s a diabetic. People like that need to get it. My mom got it. I don’t want to take away that ability.”
DeChambeau later added: “Now as time goes on, if it [the vaccine] is mainstream, really, really mainstream, then yeah.”
No vaccine shortages have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the New York Times reported that about one million doses have gone to waste since the United States began offering it in December.
More than 90 percent of COVID-19 cases and more than 95 percent of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States are among unvaccinated people, the CDC reported last week.
“It was bound to happen,” he said. “Unfortunately, it happened that week. The odds are you get tested enough, you travel around, it’s going to happen. I tried to take all the necessary precautions to not contract it, and unfortunately on Friday [July 23] I tested positive. I tested positive a few times [in the aftermath]. You can’t do anything about it.”
DeChambeau spent the last two weeks quarantining, unable to practice much, but “started getting fully better two or three days ago.” He estimated he had lost eight to 10 pounds in the last two weeks and expects his clubhead speed to be lower as a result.
He said he hopes to make the Olympic team in 2024.